Tag Archives: jason groome

Dave Dombrowski Has Killed The Farm System

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With only two prospects in the top 100, Dave’s win now philosophy has killed the backup plan If we cannot resign all these players.

Yes, Dave Dombrowski has brought in some serious talent to Boston over the years, but we simply cannot resign them all. Chris Sale and Craig Kimbrel has done astonishingly well thus far, but what about the Drew Pomeranz, Carson Smith, and Tyler Thornburg? While Losing big name prospects such as: Anderson Espinoza, Travis Shaw, Manuel Margot, and Mauricio Dubon.

Not saying these trades weren’t beneficial, but with the cap room looking tight already, it is going to be a challenge to resign these guys. With guys already in line to ink up max deals. Mookie Betts, Andrew Benintendi, and Xander Bogaerts should all command huge contracts, which will spike up the luxury tax for sure. It makes it harder for the team to compete in free agency for guys like: Bryce Harper, and Manny Machado exclusively.

The farm system now ranks 15th in all of baseball. With Jason Groome ( Tommy john) and Micheal Chavis ( 80 game suspension) as the only two guys in the top 100. Leaving scraps for developed prospects. Guys like Tanner Houck, Trey Ball, and Josh Ockimey aren’t eye popping players yet. They need to restock the farm system in some way via trade or an over abundance of draft picks in coming years.

While nobody would expect a dominant regular season from the likes of Ben Cherington and John Farrell respectfully, Alex Cora has been a great compliment to dealing Dave. While we wait and watch another trade deadline come and pass, we can only imagine what him and the front office has in store.

What will the legacy be after it’s all said and done? Maybe we will find out about Hanley Ramirez too. Until then, we let the cards fold as they be.

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The Craig Kimbrel Conundrum

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A depleted farm system, a costly contract among the horizon, what do the Red Sox do about Craig Kimbrel?

With this being the last year before free agency, Where do the crossroads line up for Craig Kimbrel? The all star closer is in line for a huge payday potentially earning over $100 million contract. This could go down one of three ways: 1. Sign him in hopes of a team discount/ pay what he wants. 2. Trade him at the deadline to get something out of him. 3. he walks on his own. Either way, The Red Sox need to act fast.

Let’s say the team offers him a friendly 4 year/ $80 million contract as a team friendly deal. He could either gladly accept, or demand more money than fellow closer Alroldis Chapman who got his 5 year $82 million contract almost two years ago. He is a fastball dominant pitcher, meaning without that there’s not a lot of wiggle room to be above par. Sure, his knuckle curve is a great set up pitch, but you’re not throwing that three to four times an at bat.

Our second option is a pill swallower: trade one of the best closers in the league. This one would hurt, but it could address one of our biggest holes. THE FARM SYSTEM!!!!!! With only two prospect in the top 100 ( Chavis- ped suspension) ( Groome- Tommy John surgery) the farm system is depleted. Along with first round pick Tristan Casas, there’s not much going on at the moment. This could be the trade to get a package that consists of a bullpen arm and a prospect or two.  You can’t go wrong with that if there’s little to no help on an extension.

This idea also keeps money on the table for future extensions ( Betts, Sale, Benintendi< Bogaerts) While keeping the team in the witch hunt for Bryce Harper. With various other teams sure to be in on him.

The worse case scenario: He walks on his own terms with nothing gained for the Red Sox.

In this scenario, the team not only loses out on a closer, but misses out on a chance to gain something for his services. The club needs to look into every avenue before trying their luck in free agency. Anything can happen, it is a business. With that being said, they have to keep everything an open possibility. Even if it becomes a negative move from the fans perspective.

 

 

Two Red Sox in Baseball America Top 100 Prospects

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Baseball America released its annual top 100 prospects list Monday. If you go searching for Red Sox, it might take you awhile. The Red Sox have two of their prospects included on the list, and both are in the bottom twenty. What happened to the Red Sox system you might ask? Well, they traded away a lot of their young assets, but most of the deals have worked out. Some of them were dealt to Chicago for staff ace Chris Sale, others were sent to San Diego for Craig Kimbrel and Drew Pomeranz. Others are just no longer eligible, as Andrew Benintendi and Rafael Devers are on the big club. The Red Sox still have plenty of young talent, as for the farm system; let’s take a look at the two who made the list.

Jason Groome

Groome, unsurprisingly, is the highest Red Sox on the list. What is a bit surprising is him coming in as low as eighty-third on that list. Groome was a top prospect coming into the 2016 draft, some places even ranked him as the best eligible player in the draft. He fell to the Red Sox at twelfth, presumably due to signability issues and minor character concerns. The Red Sox got a bargain, having arguably the best talent in the draft slip to them at twelve. And as a left-handed pitcher with ace potential that was like striking gold.

Groome is a big kid, standing at 6’6″ 220. At just nineteen years old, he has room to add to his frame and maybe pick up a couple of ticks on his fastball velocity, which already reaches the mid-90’s. There is no real concern over his body, as it is a great size to withstand the rigors of pitching all season long and approaching 200 innings a year. Groome also has the makings of a devastating curveball, which Keith Law said was the best in the entire 2016 draft class and one of the best he had ever seen from a high schooler.

Work Left to Do

Groome still has work to do; he is only nineteen years old after all. He needs to work on his mechanics and his control as he walked 4.9 batters per nine innings last season. Groome also needs to improve his changeup to give himself a reliable third pitch. It is hard to make it as a starter in the big leagues with only two pitches, so the development of a third pitch is key. He has the talent to do so, pitching in high school there was no need for him to ever throw a changeup because no one could hit his fastball and curveball. With some work, I expect his changeup to become at least adequate with time.

The reason Groome likely slips to number eighty-three on the prospects list is due to his disappointing 2017 campaign. In all fairness to Groome, he was injured right out of the gate and played catch up for most of the year. Groome took a shellacking in his debut at Greenville and didn’t pitch again for over two months. He made three rehab starts at Lowell, finishing up with a five inning no-hitter. After making it back to Greenville Groome showed inconsistency, pitching a couple stellar games but also exhibiting his control problems in others. He was just 3-7 with a 6.70 ERA at Greenville, but throwing out that first start in which he was injured, the ERA comes down to 5.02. For a positive, Groome struck out 11.77 batters per nine innings at the level.

Moving Forward

A good sign for Groome’s development is he worked out with Chris Sale in the offseason. The Red Sox top prospect, a left-hander, taking the initiative to work out with fellow left-hander and staff ace can only be a good thing. I think if Groome can enter this season healthy he will show a lot more of his potential and show why he was so highly though of out of high school. He has already shown the ability to miss plenty of bats, I think he will put that to better use this season. With it, Groome should fly up the prospect rankings by season’s end. If things go well, he may even threaten the top twenty next year.

Groome grew up a Red Sox fan despite living in New Jersey surrounded by Yankees fans.

Michael Chavis

Chavis came in at eighty-fifth on the prospects list, just two spots lower than Groome. As the top power bat in the Red Sox system, Chavis got a lot of attention last season. A first round pick back in 2014, Chavis struggled adjusting to pro ball. Chavis started in Greenville in 2015 and only batted .223. The only positive of his debut were the sixteen home runs he hit. At just twenty years old the Red Sox had Chavis repeat the level in 2016, and it didn’t go any better. For a first round pick, Michael Chavis was certainly not living up to expectations.

2017

Chavis entered the season last year at twenty-one years old. He also opened the season with high-A Salem, a team he had only played for briefly towards the end of the 2016 season. Chavis showed immense improvement, not only hitting for power, but for average as well. In 223 at-bats with Salem, Chavis hit .318 with seventeen long balls and a 1.029 OPS. He was beginning to show why the Red Sox had made him a first round draft pick three years earlier.

The performance earned Chavis a mid-season callup to AA Portland. Although his bat slowed some, Chavis still exhibited the power potential he had shown in Salem earlier in the year. His average dropped to .250 in Portland, but he still managed a nice .802 OPS. In 248 at-bats he added fourteen more home runs for the Sea Dogs, giving him thirty-one on the season between the two levels. Playing in the Arizona Fall League, Chavis’ numbers remained in line with what he had done in Portland, batting .261 with four home runs and an .805 OPS. Thirty-five home runs in 563 at-bats is a nice year’s work.

Chavis batting with the Portland Sea Dogs.

What’s To Come

Can Chavis be the hitter he was in Salem, hitting for a good average and power? Or will he be a power hitter who struggles to make contact and hit for a mediocre average? The evidence so far leads me to believe he will be closer to the player we saw in Portland then the one with Salem. Hey, there’s a market for power bats, it’s not a bad thing. Even when going well, Chavis has some swing and miss to his game and hasn’t walked a ton. Last year he drew 39 walks against 113 strike outs. It would be nice to see him walk more by the time he makes it to the Major Leagues. Then again, sometimes guys hit the ball with more authority when they have an aggressive approach.

Chavis’ defense at third base is a little questionable, but if Rafael Devers shows improvement at the hot corner the Red Sox are set there for years to come. The ultimate home for Chavis on the diamond might be at first base, where the Red Sox don’t have anyone locked up past 2019. With Mitch Moreland and Hanley Ramirez back in the fold, the Sox shouldn’t need Chavis this year. They even have Sam Travis, who Baseball America rated as the Red Sox seventh best prospect. With another season like 2017, he might force his way up for 2019, but he needs to focus on continual improvement to his game first. Chavis has some work to put in down on the farm, as Major League pitchers will do a better job finding the holes in his swing and exploiting his weaknesses.

 

Feature picture from Baseball Hot Corner

Jason Groome: The Next All Star Pitcher

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The 2016 12th overall pick out of New Jersey throws a lot of heat, but working with Chris Sale makes him that much deadlier.

In 2016, Jason Groome heard his name called as the 12th person in the MLB Amateur 2016 draft. After being given a $3.65 million contract with the Red Sox, the 6’6 southpaw out of Barngat, NJ came into 2017 as MLB.com’s #43 prospect. Last season, he sported a 3-9 record with a ghastly 5.69 ERA through 55.1 innings of work throughout low a and single a baseball.

He has a wide arsenal of pitches that he uses to work his counts. He has a fastball velocity range from low to mid 90s, as well as a nice power curve that glides with great movement. His tall frame works to his advantage as well. It helps give him good downhill action on his pitches, which will make the timing harder to follow. His change-up is a work in progress, as command issues have plagued that pitch in 2017.

Once he fully develops throughout the minor league system, he could be a dual threat pitcher. What could make him more valuable? Enter Chris Sale. The ace of the Red Sox has been training throughout the offseason in Florida with the young lefty. He could learn a lot from a pitcher like Sale. Sale came in second place in the Cy young voting just two months ago. He is coming off a season in which he struck out over 300 batters. If you pay close attention to both pitchers, the similarities are striking.

Both pitchers have a long, lengthy left-handed body. Even though Sale has a wider delivery than Groome, they both throw with their arms a bit to the side. This helps give them a better angle on their pitches. In Chris Sale’s case, the awkward delivery helps make the timing of the hitter off kilter at first sight. Not many pitchers have his size and delivery, while being able to whip a fastball over 95 mph.

Jason Groome will adapt after his first full season in the minors. Seeing what the pace is will help him make the right adjustments while being able to do it comfortably in the offseason. While recent pitchers such as Jordan Cote, Jacob Smith, and Josciel Verjas were released and never signed up to this point. Coming straight out of high school has its disadvantages, but they can be easy to overcome.

How far he progresses this year is up to Dave Dombrowski and company, but one things for certain. As the days, months, and years go by, expect to hear about Jason Groome. This kid is only getting better. With some hard work, could be a multiple Cy Young award winner at some point throughout his career.

Photo Cred: Baseball Hot Corner